Daisho is the moniker of Angad Bharaj, who is a DJ and generally a maker of electronic music. Neither of those terms scream ‘solo piano’, but that’s exactly what his April EP ‘In Hiding’ is full of; in fact, there’s almost nothing else. That’s interesting, isn’t it? Angad even mentions that he isn’t a classically trained pianist or anything, so the 12-ish minutes of music here are much more about vibe and evoking some sort off feeling than a quest for technical proficiency. That much is achieved, and pretty well to boot.

It’s basically impossible to try and describe the music and style that Daisho has on the EP (hell, even he uses it) without using the C-word (“cinematic”), but let’s try. Why using the term actually makes sense here is that it’s not a lazy substitute for a bunch of more potentially appropriate words (har har). Every track on this rather short listening experience seems to have been deliberately composed and built for you to imagine situations and alternate versions of your own life. And it’s all done with a piano and maybe a couple snatches of strings. The recording is warm enough, as it should be; this genre does not really leave anything to hide behind. But the songs are where all the flights of fancy are to be had.

At the very least, you can get through all 6 tracks on ‘In Hiding’ while working or living your life as a perfectly pleasant instrumental album. At best, you can have a more involved listen (if you’re in the mood) and have a great time letting your imagination run wild. There’s the lowkey and downcast opener ‘Tarda Larga’, which is basically a rainy day in sonic form. ‘Madrugada’ is an even more mournful continuation of this vibe, helped along by some strings. This is an emotional low for some, but it could be catharsis for others; depends on you! ‘Before The Waltz’ goes into a waltz halfway in, thus making the song’s title hilarious. There’s also some element of silent-film comedy to it, maybe? It has the vibe of a character everyone feels sorry for while laughing at them falling down all the time. ‘Vals Quan Plou’ takes the same idea forward, upping the drama and slowing itself down to a plod. The final two tracks, ‘Interlude’ and ‘Epiphany And Chase’ are perhaps a little more abstract, but they have a noticeable rise in energy and even a little urgency. The latter even has a minimal groove. It probably is supposed to suggest some sort of resolution, but it ends up being more like an open-ended question.

Perhaps what makes ‘In Hiding’ such a satisfying release is that it has all the good ingredients of a strong instrumental EP; it’s emotional, it has a specific style that ties everything together, et cetera. But what makes it different is that it really, really wants you to be an involved part of itself. All the music it contains is for you to write your stories into. That is the very definition of the word… (starts with a C).